Tangled

Animated films account for a disproportionately high proportion of the 3D film ‘canon’, for the likely reason that the 3D conversion process is much easier with animated films – especially if, like Tangled, their visuals are generated by computers.

Perhaps because of this, and also probably because of the already ‘artificial’ nature of an animated film’s visuals, 3D animated films generally work quite well.

Tangled is a particularly good example. There’s consistently strong use of depth so that the film’s ‘3Dness’ is never in doubt, and the sense of space created is convincing and immersive. There’s even some clever thematic use of 3D in places, such as the way the 3D at the film’s start emphasizes the difference in scale between Rapunzel’s tiny tower room and the roguishly free, palace-climbing, forest-chasing life of Flynn Rider.

There are a couple of classic 3D set-pieces, too. Specifically the phenomenally dense scene where Rapunzel visits the town for the first time, and the infamous lantern ceremony sequence, which looks amazing on really high quality 3D displays, but bloody awful on any 3D displays that suffer with crosstalk.

All in all, Tangled is one instance where getting the 3D version of the film really is worthwhile – not least so you can test your TV’s 3D capabilities out!